Why I'm postponing my 2021 cruise

You might have seen that just as the pandemic kicked off, I booked a cruise for September 2021. Well, I'm postponing it - and as this blog is somewhere that I chat about travel a lot, I thought it made sense to talk about it here.

Booking my cruise

I booked my trip through Cruise.co.uk who are a cruise-specific travel agency and were so easy to book with. They found the cruise I wanted cheaper than I'd found it myself, and were so helpful every step of the way. They have also been really helpful when it came to wanting to postpone my cruise - which frankly has made the whole situation a lot easier to deal with.

You can find out about my original cruise booking experience and plans HERE!

Why I'm postponing my 2021 cruise

Well, the obvious answer is Covid. I don't think anyone expected we would still be facing such uncertainty almost a year later, but here we are. When I originally booked, I thought 18 months was far away enough that it would all be done and dusted... how naive I was!

So as it stands, my cruise is going ahead. Norwegian Cruise Line are set to resume sailing in April 2021, 5 months before my cruise is due to take place. And I want nothing more than to be on that ship this coming September but there are various reasons why I have decided it would be more sensible to postpone it until September 2022. Here they are:

Covid testing before & after

I completely agree with and commend the decision to require a negative Covid test for travel - it is absolutely key to preventing the spread of the virus. However, it is an added cost and inconvenience when it comes to jetting off. This will likely still be in place come September 2022, but hopefully it will be more accessible.

No buffet, no party

This is, I'm sure you'll agree, an excellent life motto. I love a buffet and there are rumours that cruise ships will be (temporarily or permanently, who knows) doing away with buffets. Obviously I can completely understand this safety measure, but sadly a late night buffet is one of my favourite things about cruising.

No DIY excursions 

Another thing I have seen suggested is that passengers won't be able to leave the ship of their own accord at the ports; you'll only be able to go on official excursions, booked through the cruise line. I don't know if this is confirmed but it has been heavily speculated, and frankly I just don't want to pay so much extra to do specific excursions when I had planned on doing most of it off my own back. It would end up doubling the cost of my cruise and it's so frustrating.

I want to buy a house

Lockdown has really made me want to move out - no offence to my mum and dad who are amazing, but I just really need my own space. I have the cost of my cruise (as originally budgeted) set aside in a separate bank account, but with the added need for a Covid test as well as the cost of excursions, I would need to save more money that would be better off in a house deposit.

How I'm feeling about postponing my 2021 cruise

Honestly, I don't mind. A big part of booking this cruise was that I wanted to prove to myself that I could set a savings target for a specific *thing* and hit it - which I did, even during a pandemic where I lost half of my income. I'm incredibly lucky to have been able to do that, and while I'm sad that 2021 might not be the year that I get back on a cruise ship, it's not forever. By pushing it back to 2022 it means my balance won't be due for an extra year - more time to save, more time to look at how cruising has changed, more time to decide whether or not I should actually go. 

I miss travel SO much, but I don't want to end up paying more money for an experience that isn't the one I originally wanted. Postponing it now gives me a buffer to work out the best course of action, and I think it's the most sensible decision for me personally. 

If you have a cruise or any other type of trip booked for later this year, PLEASE let me know what your plans are in terms of cancelling it, risking it etc. No judgement here!